Vertigo Blu-ray Review

"And then she turned and ran into the church. I tried to follow but it was too late..."

A man confronts his accuser atop the Statue of Liberty, where one false move will spell death. A wolf in sheep's clothing allows the beast lurking within to bear its teeth. A housemaster slowly, oh so slowly, pieces together the heinous crime perpetrated by two former students. A woman searches for clues in a suspected murderer's apartment just as the man returns home. Four people work to keep the demise of a fellow smalltown resident a secret from a local deputy. An assassin's gun slides out from behind a curtain as an ordinary man races to thwart his plot. An airplane buzzes then roars past as a man dives for cover. The hiss of a shower masks the approach of a madman with a knife in his hand. Countless birds gather on a jungle gym as a woman smokes a cigarette nearby. A husband barges into his new wife's bedroom and has his way with her as she retreats into a near-catatonic state. A physicist discovers killing a man isn't as easy as it might seem, wrestling with his victim right up until the violent end. A purple dress billows out beneath a dying woman like spilled blood. A serial killer retrieves his pin from a woman's grasp, one dead finger at a time. A fake psychic tries to squirm out of a thief's vice-like grip as he pushes a syringe closer and closer. Be it drama, horror or comedy, psychological stunner, monster movie or international spy thriller, is it any mystery that filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was known as the Master of Suspense? Is it any wonder his movies still hold hypnotic sway over filmfans all these years later?

An acrophobic detective is caught in a dizzying web of mistaken identity, passion and murder...

Vertigo debuted to mixed reviews, audience apathy and general disappointment. It would be twenty-five years before the film finally earned the reception it deserved, when its 1983 theatrical re-release was greeted with fanfare and high praise. Fast forward to 2012, as Hitchcock is experiencing nothing short of a postmortem resurgence. It's abundantly clear that Vertigo was ahead of its time, and even more clear that it deserves to be ranked among the best and most important films of the latter half of Hitchcock's career. Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak's performances are riveting, the story itself is an ingenious labyrinth of identity and deception (improbable though it all may be) and the director's eye is as sharp as it's ever been. The mystery surrounding Madeline's possession, attempted suicides and eventual fate still has the power to captivate, and the suspense of it all borders on unbearable. This is Hitchcock in rare form, defying convention and breaking every last rule. Twisting, upending then subverting expectation. Assembling all the pieces, from screenwriters to actors to cinematographers and composers. Pitting a fatally flawed man against his own weakness, a detective against his own duty, and a lover against his own deep feelings. This is Hitchcock in control. Hitchcock choosing the game and manipulating each piece. Hitchcock doing something unlike anything he did before or since. This is the master at work, and Vertigo represents something of a masterpiece.

Vertigo boasts an impressive 1080p/VC-1 encoded video transfer born of a challenging restoration and extremely problematic source materials. The results are terrific -- for the most part -- and there are only a few troubling shots that detract from the overall presentation, most of which involve muted blacks and fading present in the original negatives. Otherwise, there really isn't much room for water-into-wine improvement. Colors are quite striking, fleshtones are lifelike and convincing on the whole (barring a few brief mishaps), and contrast is dialed in with care, honoring Hitchcock and cinematographer Robert Burks' intentions. Detail is perhaps the most notable aspect of the image, though, with crisp edges, revealing textures, forgiving delineation and a fine, filmic layer of unobtrusive grain. Artifacts are in short supply too, as is any compression anomaly or digital distraction that might compromise the integrity of the presentation. Yes, the condition of Vertigo's source takes a small toll, particularly in the closing minutes of the film, but the restoration team's hard work ultimately overcomes and prevails.

North by Northwest, Psycho and Vertigo are the only three films in the Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection afforded a 5.1 lossless mix, and it's arguably Vertigo that makes the most of the opportunity. Dialogue is clean, clear and perfectly intelligible and rarely has to compete with the soundscape, even when Bernard Herrmann's masterfully circular score -- full and enveloping as it can be -- quite literally presses in from all sides. LFE output and rear speaker activity are decisive but never overbearing, granting effects presence without amping up their punch or power. This is, after all, a 1958 thriller. Anything more would be detrimental to the tone and spirit of the film's original audio. The only issue I have, in fact, is that Universal didn't offer fans two lossless options: a 5.1 remix and the original mono track. The disc does include a decent two-channel DTS Mono mix, but it would have been nice to sample, compare and appreciate the best of both lossless worlds.

Audio Commentary: Only one feature commentary is available: a solo track with filmmaker William Friedkin. The second previously available commentary with associate producer Herbert Coleman and restoration team leads Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz is nowhere to be found.

Obsessed with Vertigo: New Life for Hitchcock's Masterpiece (SD, 29 minutes): From AMC comes this Harrison Engle documentary, introduced by Vertigo restorer Robert A. Harris and restoration producer James C. Katz. Among those who sit down to talk about the film are Harris and Katz (of course), filmmaker Martin Scorsese, Hitch's daughter Pat Hitchcock O'Connell, associate producer Herbert Coleman, screenwriter Samuel Taylor and actresses Kim Novak (Madeleine/Judy) and Barbara Bel Geddes (Midge).

Hitchcock and Truffaut Interview Excerpts (SD, 14 minutes): Excerpts from filmmaker Francois Truffaut's 1962 interview sessions with Hitchcock (for his book, the aptly titled "Hitchcock") are set to a montage of clips and stills from the film.

100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era (HD, 9 minutes): Super agent turned visionary Lew Wasserman put power (and opportunity) in his actors' pockets and changed the business, all before purchasing the Paramount library, bringing Hitchcock to television and, ultimately, acquiring a major studio. That studio? Universal.

Vertigo isn't a perfect Hitchcock film as some contend, but it is one of the enormously talented filmmaker's finest. Ahead of its time and in full command of its faculties, it twists, turns, coaxes, manipulates, lunges and goes in for the kill, all with such unnerving ease that it earns its place among the greatest films of the era. Fortunately, it also earns an excellent Blu-ray disc that features a high quality video presentation, a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track and a solid selection of extras. It doesn't offer perfection on any front, but it comes close enough to make this one of the best releases available in the 15-film Masterpiece Collection.

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